Red Sky At Night
by BethBrokes
Summary: Jack decides to get his mind off the events of Threads with a little stargazing, but is interrupted by Sam.
1. Red Sky At Night

Setting: The night before the fishing trip in Threads (8x18)

Pairing: Sam/Jack

Disclaimer: I don't own Sam, Jack, or anything Stargate-related. If I did, this scene would have been in Threads.

* * *

><p>The stars were just becoming visible in the darkening sky; specks of light in a deep red sky.<p>

"Well, you know what they say... Red sky at night, shepherd's delight..." Jack muttered to himself, as he pulled the cover gently off his telescope. He shook his head slightly, as if reprimanding himself, but spoke aloud again. "Must be going wacko, talking to myself. Maybe it's time to retire."

Aiming the telescope at a random patch of sky, he glanced through. It was a clear night, albeit a chilly one, but still a little too light to do any stargazing yet. He didn't even know why he wanted to. No, that was a lie. He knew why. General Jack O'Neill might not know a lot of things, but he knew more than he let on... and he knew why he needed to lose himself in the stars on this particular evening.

Letting out a sigh, he began to climb down the ladder. A beer might just clear up this odd state of mind he was in. Or maybe not. Again, he was lying to himself. Only one thing - one person, to be precise - could help him make sense of his mind right now.

He spun at a sound from behind him as he reached the ladder, nearly falling as he jumped off the last rung. The source gave a nervous smile as she made her way across the grass to him.

"Jesus, Carter! You couldn't have called?" He remembered her last visit, and couldn't help but grin. "Ah, but you're not in the habit of doing that are you? Come inside, it's freezing." He gave her no chance to reply before he opened the sliding door into the house. "After you, Carter."

"Thank you, sir." She seemed calmer than before, but on edge nevertheless. Who could blame her after the day they'd all had?

"Si'down" he said, as he walked to the kitchen. "I think we could both use a beer."

The second he was out of sight, Jack leant against the fridge and took a deep breath. 1, 2, 3... the seconds ticked away on the wall clock Daniel had bought him last Christmas. It had Egyptian hieroglyphs instead of numbers, and a pyramid at the 12 o'clock position. Danny had no doubt thought it funny, so Jack had hung it up for the next time they had a team night. The ticking bugged him, though, when he was at home alone to hear it, and he kept meaning to take it down...

Returning to the living room, after making extra clinking noises in the fridge to cover his long absence, he handed Sam her drink. She was perched on the arm of his couch, looking unsure as to whether to sit or not. She'd been here hundreds of times before for SGC barbecues and team nights, but always with at least one other SG-1 member - usually Teal'c; Daniel had opted out of the last few Star Wars marathons. She smiled, murmured a 'thanks', and lifted the bottle to her lips. Jack stood against the armchair. They couldn't have been more than 2 feet apart. Hastily, realising he'd been watching her, he took a swig of beer too. Except he was still focused on her and the bottle missed his mouth, spilling a good third of the drink down his Air Force t-shirt and causing him to mutter a few choice expletives. Sam laughed, thankfully having just moved her own drink away from her mouth. It rested against her leg as she fixed her round blue eyes on him, her whole face lit by a playful smile.

"No giggling, please." he said, in a mildly-exasperated tone as he inspected the remaining liquid in his bottle. The phrase, casually thrown in without a thought, just seemed to

make her smile more.

"Why not, sir? We're not exactly on an ice planet now." Her words were badly timed. A gust of wind crept through the still-open screen, causing Sam to shiver and Jack to frown.

"Here," he said, tossing her a blanket that had been draped across the armchair. "You'll never manage to say what you came here to say if you're sitting there freezing your ass off." He slid the door shut, then put a few fresh logs on the fire as she draped the blanket around herself and sat on the couch. He was right: she was freezing from waiting outside - again - and it wasn't helping her work up the nerve to tell him. But then, if he knew why she was here, why didn't he start? She sighed, and he cocked an eyebrow at her as he sat down at the other end of the (admittedly quite small) couch.

"Something wrong, Carter?" As soon as he'd said it, he regretted it. Her dad had died today, for Christ's sakes! Of course something was wrong. Hell, maybe she wasn't even here to carry on saying what had been interrupted by Kerry earlier. Maybe she just needed someone to talk to about Jacob.

"Sorry." The word came out quietly. "I meant... how're you doing?"

"I'm fine, sir." She took a nervous sip of her drink. Jack could see she wasn't done speaking, and he just watched her, waiting for her to continue, even as she lowered the bottle and stared at it in her lap for a moment. "Dad, he said something, before..." She winced, turning her head a little - not quite looking at him, but looking just past him. "He said... he said I could still have everything I want." She looked directly at him, her blue eyes fixing on his deep brown ones, and said, in an even quieter voice "I broke it off with Pete."

A second passed, in which Jack, unsure of what to say, searched desperately in her wide eyes for the right response. He found none.

"Good... I guess he wasn't what you wanted then?" The hint of a question hung at the end of his sentence. The corners of her mouth twitched up.

"No. You're what I want... sir."

The old soldier's face crinkled into a smile. Not his usual grin, but the one he reserved for her. This time, however, it wasn't subtle, or hidden from superiors, or short-lived.

"And you're still going to call me 'sir'?" he teased.

"Jack..." She was smiling, leaning closer.

"Carter?" He replied, his eyes dancing in the firelight, gaze flickering across her face. She laughed again, leant her whole body across to him... and the beer, left forgotten in her right hand, spilt across them both.

She jumped up to rub at her jeans where it had soaked in, and he followed suit, grabbing the now empty bottle and watching as it seeped between the leather couch cushions. A damp patch on his right thigh now matched the trail down his shirt from earlier.

Sam looked up apologetically. "Sir, I'm so sorry. I forgot it was there..." She broke off as she caught him shaking his head at her, grinning.

"_Sam,_ he paused to further emphasise her name, "I told you not to call me sir."

She smiled then looked away for a second, before she realised nobody was there to see it except face had changed when she next met his eyes.

"_Jack_, maybe I should..." there was a reluctant pause "Go home and change. We should probably get some sleep for this fishing trip tomorrow."

In that moment, just before she looked away again, he recognised her expression. He'd seen it only a few times before. She was scared. This was new ground, technically still against the rules, and yet...

"C'mere." he said, pulling her towards him - for the second time that day - and letting her press herself into his chest. Only this time she did what she'd wanted to do earlier but couldn't, steeped in grief and terrified of discovery, and tipped her face towards him. He cupped her face with one hand - the other had slid down to her back.

"Are you sure?" she said, in a voice that was soft, but no longer afraid.

"Always."

The stars could wait. Jack wouldn't be needing them tonight.


	2. An Inky Dawn

Setting: The morning before the fishing trip in Threads (8x18)

Pairing: Sam/Jack

Disclaimer: I don't own Sam, Jack, or anything Stargate-related. If I did, this scene would have been in Threads.

A/N: I had a couple of reviews asking for a continuation, but I can't write smut! This is the best you're getting from my second ever bit of fic. It has references to smutty goings-on, though, hence the rating. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>The ink-blue sky was streaked with topaz clouds as a warm glow spread upwards from the bottom of a frame of trees. The ones in General O'Neill's backyard, Sam realised... And the memory of the night before came seeping into her awareness.<p>

"_Are you sure?" she had said, aware that his hand had moved down from her shoulders to rest gently on the small of her back._

_She had felt the slight caress of his fingers on her cheek, leant into it a fraction, but never taking her eyes off him as he said "Always" and leant in to kiss her._

She smiled to herself. That kiss... it had been nothing like the one her subconscious had created onboard the Prometheus. For one thing, she could remember it a lot more vividly.

_She had pressed herself against him as their lips met. His right hand had become entwined in her short blonde hair, and the left moved slowly, deliberately, round her waist, slipping under her jacket from the front._

_She'd smiled at that, and broken the kiss to take it off. It was her favourite leather one - the one Pete hadn't liked on her – but she tossed it carelessly onto the couch. The fire had done its job; she was no longer freezing, and the room was pleasantly warm. The previously-sodden patch on her jeans from the spilt beer was already drying._

_On that thought, she'd focused on Jack again, re-initiating the kiss with her hands round the back of his neck. She felt his lips form a smile, prompting an identical response from her as she moved her hands down the front of his shirt. There was a dampness beneath her fingers and he broke away as the moist patch on his own clothes was pressed against his skin._

_She'd said, softly, "Sorry." before pulling it up over his head._

Her recollections were interrupted by a movement behind her in the bed. Rolling to face away from the window, the covers strategically pulled up to her chest, she saw the bleary-eyed face of Jack O'Neill.

"Morning, Sir."

He blinked, rubbed his eyes, broke into a smile, his dark eyes flicking up and down before settling on hers.

"I thought I told you not to call me that, _Sam_." His tone was playful as he propped himself up on one elbow to face her properly.

"Old habits die hard."

"Is that why you're awake at 5am despite the fact I gave us all 2 weeks leave?"

She pulled herself up, leaning against the headboard, and reached for her watch, which she'd somehow managed to set down on the bedside table at some point last night...

Last night had been... nice. Nervous, and slow, and easy. There was room for improvement, but neither of them had expected to get it perfect first time. And it had been Jack. Finally.

"Sam?" queried Jack, after she'd been silent a few moments. "Do I have to order you to go back to sleep?" The briefest of grins. "You seem a little tired still."

"No. Sorry. I was thinking about last night." They shared a look of happy amusement. "And actually, it's a good thing we're awake. I need to go home and get ready for that fishing trip."

"At 5am? I never had you pegged as the kind of girl that needs 4 hours to pack for one weekend away, Sam." It was true; she wasn't that kind of girl. Pete had thought she was, or she could be, but she'd never had it in her.

"Mark's staying at my place for a few days." Her voice trembled almost unnoticeably, and Jack's free hand reached over to stroke her arm reassuringly. She'd almost forgotten what had made her decide to come over in the first place. Almost.

"So, you want to sneak in before he realises you went out last night?"

"Something like that, Sir, yes." He cocked an eyebrow. "_Jack_," she continued, "would you mind helping me find my clothes?"

As he moved his hand off her arm he leant over to kiss where it had been, then planted a line of kisses up her shoulder and neck before he slid out of bed. She allowed herself a long look at him before he pulled on yet another Air Force t-shirt and sweats and she reluctantly pulled back the covers.

As she picked up her bra and panties (wishing she'd thought to change from her standard black cotton work underwear before she'd left home last night), Jack wandered out of the bedroom.

There was the hum of a coffee machine heating up, and various sounds as he moved into another room. She had located her jeans and was pulling them on when he came back in, holding her blouse in one hand and her jacket in the other. He tossed the blouse to her.

"I found this," he held up the jacket "behind the couch." The corners of his mouth twitched, and she smiled back, amused simply by his reaction.

"Guess I shouldn't have thrown it so haphazardly. Although, I _was_ distracted." She pulled her blouse over her head as he watched, admiringly.

"That's no excuse, Carter. You have to be careful with a nice jacket like this." He held it out for her to put on, kissing the back of her neck as she stepped into it, before murmuring "It's my favourite, you know." He straightened up slightly as she turned round, smiling. "Well, second favourite. After that sweet little tank top number."


	3. In The Daylight

A/N: Okay, so I couldn't leave this alone. I want to stretch this out at least until Daniel and Teal'c find out. So, sorry guys. But hey, I might stretch to some smut if I get enough requests. Reviews are appreciated, 'cos this is my first 'full-length' fic. (Yes, I know they're short chapters, etc. etc. I'm trying!) Enjoy!

* * *

><p>The sun was creeping across an azure sky as Jack pulled up outside Carter's house. It was cloudless – for the moment – and the sunlight seemed pale and watery, but it was bound to heat up later. Killing the engine, he steeled himself before climbing out of his truck, and walking up the path across her front lawn to the little house she rented.<p>

He'd always thought it looked a little too... quaint for Carter. Yeah, that was definitely the word; it even had a white picket fence, for cryin' out loud. Not that it was her choice, he reasoned. The Air Force paid part of her rent and had made sure the house was ready even before she'd relocated to Colorado Springs. Of course, she'd had the choice to move in the 8 years since then, but seeing as she spent most of her time on-base of off-world, what would be the point? Pete had probably felt the same as he had about the house, he realised suddenly, or he wouldn't have bought her another one. Or maybe he had, and it was just bigger and quainter. Either way, he should've told her about it beforehand. He almost shook his head in disgust.

Standing up a little straighter than usual, he knocked twice on the door, sharply. He heard her yell 'Coming, Sir' – still referring to him by rank! - but the door was opened a second later by a man instead.

Jack had never met Mark, Sam's brother, or even heard much about him. When Sam did mention him it was mostly in relation to his feud with Jacob – or worse, in relation to Pete. He didn't look much like her, more like Jacob, with the same dark brown eyes. Taller, though, and with a longer face.

"Hi there. Mark, I presume?" He stuck out a hand, smiling and looking around Mark's shoulder. "Jack O'Neill. Is Carter ready yet?"

They'd all four agreed yesterday that Jack and Sam would go up to the cabin early to set everything up. Not that he'd wanted to put them in close proximity together off-base – this was before the revelations of last night, when a few hours alone in a truck with Carter would have killed him. Both of them, in fact – but otherwise she'd have been stuck in the back seat of Daniel's new sports car, Teal'c having shotgunned the passenger seat as soon as he'd heard about it. He'd offered to take her up in his truck (a more comfortable journey, if a little earlier) and been surprised when she'd accepted.

"_I've been in the back seat of one of those things before, Sir, and it's not something I'd like to repeat." _She'd said, followed by an 'Indeed' from Teal'c that had had Daniel laughing as Sam and Jack had exchanged shy smiles.

So here he was, as promised, coming to pick her up. Except maybe now the journey wouldn't be so hard.

Mark frowned a little, but shook the proffered hand. Jack didn't know if he'd heard about Pete yet, but either way this might not look so good – an older man coming to whisk Sam away the day after her father died.

"She's just finishing up. You're her boss, right?"

"Well, technically, yes, but–" He was interrupted by Sam appearing in the hall.

"All set, Sir." She said, grinning as she saw him smile at her appearance, then turning to Mark. "You have a key, don't you? Okay, I might be out of touch for a few days..." she looked at Jack, "Is there phone signal there?"

"Nope. I think there's a payphone at the gas station in town, though." It was totally isolated, and that's why he loved it so much. She'd love it too, if she finally managed to get there. She was still going over things with Mark.

"... If you feel like going out with the kids when they get here, there's a great zoo. The flyer's on the refrigerator..." As if Mark didn't live in San Diego. "...I'll check my messages a couple of times when I'm there, so call if you need me." Her voice dropped. "Are you sure it's okay if I go?"

Mark almost smiled. Almost. It was understandable – his Dad had died less than 24 hours ago.

"You go. I'll be fine."

She nodded, smiled nervously, hugged Mark, and made to pick up her bag. Jack had already picked it up, and was smiling at Mark. He gave a half-salute to the man before he turned and followed Sam to his truck.

When he joined her in the cab he gave her a long look, staring into her big blue eyes.

"You can stay if you want. If you need to be with him. I'll just tell Daniel and Teal'c you needed some time with your family. They'd understand, if that's what you wanted."

She flashed him a smile, though her eyes were a little watery.

"You're what I want, Sir."

He laughed, and started the truck. Her words from last night sounded even better repeated in the daylight. Maybe this was what she needed after all.

"So," he said, as he pulled off the curb. "Ever been fishing before?"

"No, but it doesn't seem all that hard."

"Not in my pond, it isn't."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're smart, Carter. You'll figure it out when we get there." She rolled her eyes. There was a comfortable pause.

"Jack?"

"Sam?"

"What time did Daniel say they'd get there?"

"Well, I think he said something about setting off at 11 in between all the talk about horsepower and miles per gallon. With his driving skills, I'd say about 4pm. Why?"

She ignored the question and checked the clock on his dash. 9.15.

"Good, that means we have plenty of time." She said, the corners of her mouth wrinkling upwards.

"Enough time for what?" said Jack carefully, though he had a rough idea.

She smiled, her expression and tone suddenly innocent, and said "You're smart, Jack. You'll figure it out when we get there."

It was going to be a hard journey after all.


	4. The Bluest Sky

Setting: The day of fishing trip in Threads (8x18)

Pairing: Sam/Jack

Disclaimer: I don't own Sam, Jack, or anything Stargate-related. If I did, this scene would have been in Threads.

A/N: This is the clean version of this chapter. I finally gave in an wrote smut, so I'll post the M-rated version separately. This is the final chapter because, let's face it, there's no story here. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>They'd stopped for gas a few hours in, and she'd slipped out of the truck to kiss him, under what seemed like the bluest sky she'd ever seen, as soon as he'd finished filling the tank. They were interrupted a few moments later by the attendant clearing his throat. Well, it had seemed like a few moments to Sam, but apparently it was a little longer than that, judging by the number of cars waiting behind them for the single pump and the annoyance with which the attendant was tapping his foot and frowning.<p>

She'd waved apologetically as he'd gone inside to pay, and she'd slipped into the driver's seat. He'd refused to accept any gas money so she'd decided to pay him back by driving the rest of the way. He'd raised an eyebrow when he saw her, but said nothing.

The trip had been filled with a comfortable silence, for the most part. He'd asked how Cassie was coping at school, she'd laughed a little as she answered – As if Cassie didn't call him every other day. When they finally arrived at the cabin, after the dustiest stretch of highway Sam had ever seen, they parked in front of the lake.

"It really is nice here." she said, softly, as she slid out of the cab and wandered over to the lake. It sparkled in the midday sun, and beyond it there was nothing but trees. Proper Earth trees. She'd seen some beautiful things through the Stargate, and the alien trees had become commonplace when set next to a planet orbiting twin stars, or a lunar landscape of palest shimmering green, but this place... it was magical.

"Isn't it just?" Jack had crept up behind her to place his arms round her waist, and now he kissed the top of her head. She squirmed around to face him, clutching the open edges of his navy shirt at chest level, and kissed him properly. She'd always wanted to do that – to do _this_! To be at his cabin, alone with him, able to kiss him at will... Or was she?

"Jack?" she said after a slow pull-away, as he opened his eyes slowly and smiled. "What about the regs?"

His smile slid away, and his hands slid up from her waist to hold her shoulders as she looked up and moved her own arms to rest along his, hands on his strong biceps. Those brown eyes that had always betrayed how he felt (though sometimes she'd thought it was just wishful thinking) were thoughtful again. He sighed.

"Screw the regs." He said, finally, and his face cracked into a grin.

She shook her head a little in disbelief. That was so very... well, Jack.

"Screw the regs?"

"Screw 'em." The skin around his eyes crinkled – he'd aged so much in the last 8 years, and his hair was completely grey now, but she barely noticed any more. Just occasionally. "If they try and take this away from us I'll call Thor in, or say I'm retired or something." She let out a quiet laugh. "Besides, have you looked closely at the good ol' regs lately, Carter?" She raised an eyebrow. "Sorry. Sam?"

She bit her lip. In truth, she hadn't. She skimmed through when they were updated, of course, but she couldn't quote them by heart or anything. The pools of deep brown twinkled.

"No." she admitted.

"Well, I have. After Kerry... well, after Kerry I did some reading." She arched an eyebrow, more out of amusement than anything else, to be honest. "Don't look at me like that, Carter!"

"Sorry, sir."

He smiled and his hands dropped back to rest around her waist, pulling her in closer so he could kiss her forehead.

"You know what's been stopping us all these years?" He put on what she thought of as his 'air steward voice' to say "Dating, courtship, and close friendships between men and

women become matters of official concern when they adversely affect morale, discipline,

unit cohesion, respect for authority, or mission accomplishment. The formation of such relationships between superiors and subordinates within the same chain of command or supervision is prohibited because such relationships invariably raise the perception of favouritism or misuse of position and erode morale, discipline and unit cohesion."

She almost laughed at how he'd memorised all of that, but figure this was probably too serious a moment. Besides, what was he getting at? She frowned. "With all due respect, Jack, how does that help us?"

"Ah, it's the first bit that's important."

A thought dawned in Sam's pre-frontal cortex and hit the amygdala as it spread, making her beam at him in happiness as she said, slowly, "You're saying that because we've never adversely affected the outcomes of our missions, that rule doesn't apply?" She frowned a little and he smiled at that, though she had no idea why. "But, sir... it said it's prohibited anyway."

"Because such relationships invariably raise the _perception_ of favouritism etcetera, etcetera."

"So?" She could feel the creases spreading across her forehead.

"Do you think anyone at the SGC would argue that there'd ever be 'misuse of position' or any of that other stuff? Come on, Carter, we can fight this!" His voice was rising, excited – possibly more so than she'd ever seen before. It was contagious.

"Okay, _Jack_, how?" Her question was an attempt to ignore her increasing thoughts that right now he was at his most attractive. That would have to wait.

"By doing this..." he trailed off and ran his hands up her back and into her hair, as he leant forward to kiss her. She shut her eyes and leant in, finding her arms around his neck and her hands in his silver hair.

Breathless, she broke away a few minutes later.

"Nice plan." she gasped. "It could maybe use a little more thought, though."

"Oh, I've put plenty of thought into it." she heard him say in a low voice, before he scooped her into his arms and began to carry her into the cabin.

Afterwards they found themselves lying tangled in each other, breathless but happy, until the alarm clock on the bedside table bleeped to signal the hour.

"Carter..."

"Sir?" she mumbled in reply, lacing her fingers through his as he untangled himself from her and lay on his back beside her.

"Daniel and T could be here any minute..."

Reluctantly, they both rose and tried to retrieve their clothes. At least this time they were all in one room.

20 minutes later they were dressed, the truck was unloaded, the beers were in fridge, and they were sat on the deck, finally fishing.


End file.
